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Google adds end-to-end RCS encryption for rollout of Messages app

End-to-end encryption has quickly become a must-have feature on messaging apps. It is part of the reason why WhatsApp and Telegram have proved so popular. It should come as no surprise then, that Google is working on the same encryption for its Android Messages app.

Said app is rolling out across the globe today, with the exception of Russia and China, but is also crucially adding Rich Communication Services (RCS) chat to the mix.

The chat services will be offered to Messages users who install the app and use it as their default instant messaging platform.

Shifting back to the end-to-end encryption, while in beta for now, they are said to eventually be enabled as default on the app. This therefore means that neither carriers, not Google will be able to see your messages, although it remains to be seen if the latter is indeed true.

Down the line, this move from Google could prove significant, especially as RCS has long been touted as the replacement for SMS. Making it secure and private too is also rather important, but again, it is still unclear how carriers and networks will feel about this, especially as SMS still remains a key marketing tool for them.

We are still some ways from that RCS vision coming to fruition though, as the standards for the messaging service are still hard to peg down in different regions, which of course creates confusion.

Regardless the announcement of end-to-end encryption for RCS on Google’s Messages app is a significant one.

[Image – Photo by Egor Vikhrev on Unsplash]

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